Constructional element for building



Dec. 8, 1936. GROOVE 2,063,159

CONSTRUCTIONAL ELEMENT FOR BUILDING Filed June 16, 1935 A U U U \J-U INVENTOR/ Z7956 am ore Patented Dec. 8, 1936 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE Application June 16, 1933, Serial No. 676,197 In Germany February 27, 1932 2 Claims. (Cl. 108-13) The laying of sheets and strips of metal on roofs, gable walls and in similar cases by means of welt and double welt connections causes difficulties, especially with thick sheets or strips or 5 with metals of small flexibility in as much as considerable force is necessary for bordering up the sheets and it is scarcely possible to carry out the bordering up and folding over in straight lines with the ordinary pincers and hammers.

For this reason the sheets before being applied have been bordered up on bordering machines, or, in the case of strips, the bordering up has been carried out at the building site or in the workshop on a transportable rolling mechanism.

The metal strips bordered up in this manner were then placed on the roof and the double welt made with pincers and hammers.

According to the present invention the constructional elements for roofing, more particularly sheets and bands of considerable length,

are previously shaped by rolling arcuate ridges into the sheet at the places to be bent. By this preliminary shaping the sheets and bands are provided with ridges projecting out of the plane of the sheet so that the lines of bending are fixed.

When using such previously shaped metal bands,

the laying can proceed in a very simple manner.

The previously shaped material is placed on the roof in rolls or strips and cut off to the requiried length.

By the preliminary shaping, the material is so favourably prepared for making the double welt that even with considerable thicknesses the bordering up can be effected with the tools usually employed for the purpose.

It is also of advantage for the crooks or bends to be shaped to correspond to the previously shaped sheets so that they can readily be bordered up. The great advantage of this method of laying is more particularly that in addition to the very simple laying, the obtaining of straight lines is absolutely ensured.

With the preliminary shaping according to the present invention, the crook can easily move in 45 the welt. The ridges are of different peripheral sizes so that the roofing elements placed one upon another can interengage loosely. With strips of material of small flexibility, for example zinc, which easily break when folded back,

50 this breaking is completely avoided on account of the preliminary shaping; the preliminarily shaped bands may be applied at low temperatures at which the hitherto usual folding back would result in breakage of the material.

55 Furthermore, sheets and strips for making welt to be made in this constructional form, difably shaped crook C. The band I has the side 3 waste pipes and the like can be preliminarily shaped in such a manner that the folding lines are fixed on the sheet or strip according to their position and bending radius.

Metal roofs laid according to the method of the present invention have an attractive architectural efiect on account of the profile of the double welt.

The preliminary shaping can be carried out in a very simple manner by means of a roll shear, 10 the profile rollers being arranged in front of or behind the shear axle.

In the accompanying drawing, Figures 1, 3, and 5 are edge views of different embodiments of the invention. Fig. 2 is an edge View, show- 15 ing two of the roof members joined together. Fig. 4 is an edge view, showing a gutter formed of one of the roof members. Fig. 6 shows an end View of a waste pipe formed of one of the roof members.

In the accompanying drawing Fig. 1 shows a preliminarily shaped band in section. Such previously shaped bands wound into the form of a roll are delivered to the place of use. On both sides of the bands, corresponding to the double ferent profiles A and B are provided.

Fig. 2 shows in section a double welt which is made from two band pieces I and 2 of the type shown in Fig. 1 placed side by side and a suithaving the shape B bent over the part of the band 2 which has the shape A. Between these two band parts is the crook C which is nailed to the wooden boarding. The radii of the arcs I which interengage are adapted to one another so that the are r of the band I embraces the arc s of the crook C and thus embraces the are t of the band 2. In a similar manner the are u of the band I embraces the arc u of the crook C and the are 1/ of the crock C embraces the are a: of the band I. The second arc of the band 2 is indicated by 2.

Fig. 3 shows in section a previously shaped sheet from which, by bending over, a gutter, such as shown in section in Fig. 4, can be obtained in a very simple manner.

Fig. 5 shows in section a previously shaped sheet from which, by bending, the waste pipe shown in section in Fig. 6 can be obtained. Other similar box-like or tubular constructional elements couldbe made from suitably shaped sheets and bands.

In the manufacture of the roofing material, a strip of sheet metal of considerable length is passed through a rolling mill, which operates to 55 press into the sheet metal successive parallel arcuate ridges t, 2, :c, 1", and u, as indicated in Fig. 1. These ridges extend longitudinally of the metal strip between the longitudinal edges of the strip. Each of these ridges provides on the reverse side of the strip a semicircular groove opening'into the plane of the strip. In the formation of a joint between the ends of two strips, or between the ends of the same strip, the ends are placed in overlapping relation so that the ridges of one end enter the grooves of the other end. The overlapping ends are then folded and pressed together to form the joint. To meet different requirements the arcuate ridges are spaced difierent distances apart and they may project from opposite faces of the strip; also, the arcuate ridges and their corresponding semi-circular grooves may vary in height and depth to adapt the strip to various bending operations. The preformed strip is wound into a roll to facilitate transportation of the roofing material.

Any plumber can without a machine make gutters, waste pipes and so forth of any desired 7 length from the previously shaped sheets, while from sheet metal which is not shaped by means of bordering machines, it is possible to make only gutters of 2 m. length. Moreover, when using shaped sheet metal, fewer soldered joints are required.

What I claim is:

1. A roofing element comprising a strip of comparatively thick sheet metal provided with parallel arcuate ridges of different cross-areas projecting from opposite faces of the sheet metal strip and spaced varying distances apart.

2. An element that can be readily bent or shaped by ordinary hand tools to form roof parts, gutters and the like of various shapes and dimensions, comprising a strip of comparatively thick sheet metal provided with parallel arcuate ridges near its opposite longitudinal edges, said ridges providing bend lines for the strip and being of different cross areas, projecting from opposite faces of the sheet metal strip and spaced from one another and from said edges, the major portion of the sheet being flat.

EGBERT GROOVE. 

